Your Pond is Losing Water?

Is It a Leak, Evaporation, or Are Your Fish Drinking Too Much?

Leaks happen. But if the pond is built right, leak problems are minimal. Check out this really hard to believe, but really true, story. A few years ago I received a call from a husband and wife team – Mr. and Mrs. Watergardener – who wanted me to visit them. More specifically, Mr. Watergardener wanted me to check their pond for leaks, while his wife, Mrs. Watergardener, was fully convinced that her fish were drinking so much that it was causing the water level to drop lower and lower.

After listening to their plea, I put on my Sherlock Holmes cap, walked up to the top of their 10-foot stream bed, and began checking the edges for wet spots. Guess what I discovered? I found a soggy spot in between the waterfall and the pond where the dirt had settled and was allowing just a little bit of water to escape out of the enclosed system, soaking the nearby soil.

Don’t Blame the Fish

At this point, we proceeded to build the edge back up so the water could no longer escape, and just like magic, the leak was fixed! I also had the unpleasant task of informing Mrs. Watergardener, in a nice way of course, that fish drinking too much water is not really in the realm of possibilities. She apologized to her husband for arguing with him over that point, and I was an immediate hero for fixing their pond.

Interestingly enough, many people are leery of having a pond installed in their backyard because they’re scared that it will leak. Yes, leaks do occur … even in the best-built ponds. But in the best-built ponds, the frequency of leaks is very minimal, and the time/money required to fix them is equally minimal.

Is It Really a Leak?

So, let’s have a quick look at the issue of leaks and what it takes to repair them when and if one happens to occur in your pond. The first step in the leak detection process is to be able to distinguish between a leak and evaporation. Evaporation happens naturally in every pond, varies with the time of year, and can’t be avoided.

Evaporation is also heavily dependent on the climate in which you live. For example, if you live in Phoenix, you can expect to lose up to 3 to 5 inches of water every week in the heat of the summer. But if you live here in Pa. NJ area, you’ll lose a little less – more like 1 to 2 inches each week. Being aware of this will help you eliminate or confirm the possibility of a leak in your water garden.

Distinguishing a Leak from Natural Evaporation

With that said, the way you distinguish a leak from natural evaporation is when you’re losing more water than what you should expect to lose through evaporation at any one time of the year. Your installer, or the people at the retail garden center who sold you your pond kit, will be able to tell you exactly what to expect in terms of natural evaporation for your climate.

Step One: The 99% Rule

Another interesting piece of information – most leaks occur alongside the streambed or around the waterfall, Just check alongside the stream for wet spots in the soil or mulch. If you find one, you can dig in and around the rocks that border the area and see if the water is inadvertently finding its way over the liner’s edge. If so, just build up the edges enough to prevent water from flowing out of the falls or stream. This step is the same thing a professional would do for you but in almost no time, with almost no hassle, you’ve solved the problem yourself. Good trick, don’t you agree?

Step Two: What if the Leak’s not in the Waterfall or Stream?

Just keep in mind that we’re talking about a step-by-step process here. So, here’s the next thing you have to know about detecting leaks. If it’s not in the streambed or the waterfall, it has to be in your pond or in the plumbing. Again, if you have a correctly installed pond, the detective work is still relatively simple. Just turn off the waterfall and keep a close eye on the water level of your pond. When the water level stops dropping, you can bet your bottom dollar that the leak is immediately at, or just above that level. So the newly existing water level will be your super clue.

Step Three: It’s in the Plumbing, or…

If the water level drops to a point that it’s about even with the skimmer opening (the weir to be technically correct) then the pond itself is holding water, and odds are that your problem is in the skimmer faceplate and will need to be re-sealed again. If the water in the biological filter drains out, then the leak is in the plumbing.

Now if you’re the hands-on, do-it-yourselfer type who built the pond yourself, you may be able to wrestle with either of these issues and make the repair yourself. But if you had a pro build it, you’d best call the pro back and let him take care of the leak. Still, by doing the detective work in advance, it’ll save the pro time, and yourself money, while he fixes the problem.

Step Four: It’s in the Liner

If the water level drops below the skimmer opening, then the problem is somewhere in the liner. To find the leak, you’ll need to check the liner right at the new water level and you’ll discover the problem. How will you spot this sneaky culprit? Well, you may have to move a few rocks around in order to look for a small tear or a gouge in the liner. Once you find it, patch it up like you would have patched up an old bike inner tube back when you were a kid, fill that pond back up with water, and you’re back in business.

Step Five: In Case of a Bottom Drain Leak

One more thought. What if the water level just keeps on dropping all the way down to the bottom of your pond? If this happens, you’d better plan on being around in order to rescue your prize koi and/or goldfish. Once you tended to that emergency, odds are you’ll find that the culprit is a bottom drain.

Again, if you’re really handy and you know how to handle this sort of thing, more power to you. Fix it yourself and save yourself the money that a pro will charge. But if you’re not all that handy, this is a great time to get in touch with your pond builder and ask him to come out and fix the leak which you just happen to know is at the bottom of your pond. And while you’re at it, tell him to hurry because you have all your prize fish swimming around in the kids’ plastic swimming pool and you don’t want them to stay there very long.

In Summary

So there you have it in five easy steps. At these several stages, the real question is do you want to fix it yourself, or do you want to hire a pro to resolve the problem? So, if anyone ever mentions that they think their fish are drinking so much that it’s causing their water level to drop, just chuckle under your breath.